262 Part II Working with Objects

Figure 9-9: All character parts are now linked to the man’s pelvis part.

Setting Schematic View Preferences

The Preferences button opens the Schematic View Preferences dialog box, shown in Figure 9-10, where you can set which items are displayed or hidden, set up grids and background images, and specify how the Schematic View window will look.

Figure 9-10: The Schematic View Preferences dialog box lets you customize many aspects of the Schematic View window.

Limiting nodes

When the Schematic View window is opened, Max transverses the entire hierarchy looking for objects and features that can be presented as nodes. If you have a complex scene and don’t intend on using the Schematic View to see materials or modifiers, you can disable them

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in the Include in Calculation section of the Schematic View Preferences dialog box. This provides a way to simplify the data that is presented. With less data, locating and manipulating what you are looking for becomes easier.

The Include in Calculation section includes options for limiting the following:

Base Objects: The geometry type that makes up a node. The node is the named object, such as Earth; the Base Object is its primitive, such as Sphere (Object).

Modifier Stack: Identifies all nodes with modifiers applied.

Materials/Maps: Identifies all nodes with materials and maps applied.

Controllers: Identifies all nodes that have controllers applied.

Static Values: Displays unanimated parameter values.

Master Point Controller: Displays nodes for any subobject selections that include controllers.

Skin Details: Displays nodes for the modifiers and controllers that are used when the Skin modifier is applied to a bones system.

You can also limit the number of nodes using the Include Only options. The Selected Objects option shows only the objects selected in the viewports. The nodes change as new objects are selected in the viewports. The Visible Objects option displays only the nodes for those objects that are not hidden in the viewports, and the Animated Objects option displays only the nodes of the objects that are animated.

Object categories that can be hidden include Geometry, Shapes, Lights, Cameras, Helpers, Space Warps, and Bone Objects. Figure 9-11 shows a single sphere object in the Schematic View window with all the Include in Calculation options selected.

Figure 9-11: Without limiting nodes, the Schematic View window can get very busy.

264 Part II Working with Objects

	Working with grids and backgrounds
	The Schematic View Preferences dialog box includes settings to Show Grid, Snap to Grid, and
	Grid Spacing. The keyboard shortcut for toggling the grid on and off is G. Enabling the Snap to
	Grid option makes the nodes snap to the closest grid intersection. This helps keep the nodes
	aligned and looking neat.
	The Background Image section of the Schematic View Preferences dialog box includes a File
	button that opens a file dialog box when clicked. Selecting an image file opens and displays
	the image as a background image. This is helpful as you arrange nodes. You need to select the
	Show Image option to see the background image, and the Lock Zoom/Pan option locks the
	nodes to the background image so zooming in on a set of nodes also zooms in on the back-
	ground image.
Tip	One of the easiest ways to get a background image of a model to use in the Schematic View
	is to render a single frame and save it from the Rendered Frame Window to a location where
	you can reopen it as the Schematic View background.

Display preferences

In the Schematic View Preferences dialog box, you can select the style to use for relationship lines. The options include Bezier, Straight, Circuit, and None. When the Always Arrange, Arrange Children, or Arrange Selected options are used, you can select to have the nodes arranged Stacked, Horizontal, or Vertical. The Sync Selection options enable you to sync the selection between the Schematic View and the Viewports or between Everything. If the Everything option is selected, then not only are geometry objects in the viewports selected, but if a material is selected in the Schematic View, then the material is selected in the Material Editor also. Sync Selection Everything also affects the Modifier Stack, the Controller pane in the Display panel, and the Wiring Parameters dialog box.

The Schematic View Preferences dialog box also includes a Preferences section. These preference settings include Double Buffer, which enables a double-buffer display and helps improve the viewport update performance. The Zoom About Mouse Pointer preference enables zooming by using the scroll wheel on your mouse or by pressing the middle mouse button while holding down the Ctrl key. The Pan to Added Nodes preference automatically resizes and moves the nodes to enable you to view any additional nodes that have been added.

The Use Wireframe Color option changes the node colors to be the same as the viewport object color. The Display Layout Warning lets you disable the warning that appears every time you use the Always Arrange feature. The Only Update on Focus option causes the Schematic View to update only when the window is selected. Until then, any changes are not propagated to the window. This can be a timesaver when complex scenes require redraws.

The Show Tooltips option allows you to disable tooltips if you desire. Tooltips show in the Schematic View window when you hover the cursor over the top of a node. Tooltips can be

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handy if you’ve zoomed out so far that you can’t read the node labels; just move the cursor over a node, and its label appears. The Snap Floater option enables the Display and List floaters to be snapped to the edge of the window for easy access, and the Relative Floaters option moves and resizes the floaters along with the Schematic View window.

Tutorial: Adding a background image to the Schematic View

You can position nodes anywhere within the Schematic View window. For example, you can position the nodes to look something like the shape of the model that you’re linking. When positioning the different objects, having a background image is really handy.

To add a background image for the Schematic View, follow these steps:

1.Open the Futuristic man with background.max file in the Chap 09 directory on the CD-ROM.

This file uses the same futuristic man model used in the preceding example.

2.With the Perspective viewport maximized, select Tools Grab Viewport. Give the viewport the name of futuristic man — front view, and click the Grab button.

The viewport image opens the Rendered Frame Window.

3.Click the Save Bitmap button in the upper-left corner. Save the image as Futuristic man — front view.

4.Select Graph Editors New Schematic View to open a Schematic View window and name the view Background. Click the Preferences button on the Schematic View toolbar, and click the File button in the Background Image section.

5.Locate the saved image, and open it. Select the Show Image option in the Schematic View Preferences dialog box.

You can perform this step using the image file saved in the Chap 09 directory on the CD-ROM, if you so choose.

6.Select the View Show Grid menu command (or press the G key) to turn off the grid. Drag on the corner of the Schematic View interface to increase the size of the window so that the whole background image is visible.

7.Select each of the nodes, and drag them so that they are roughly positioned on top of the part that they represent. Start by moving the parent objects first, and then work to their children.

Figure 9-12 shows all the nodes aligned over their respective parts. From this arrangement, you can clearly see how the links are organized.